Hard to believe: Muhammad Ali wants to make a comeback and...

February 11, 1986|By Skip Myslenski & Linda Kay.

Hard to believe: Muhammad Ali wants to make a comeback and is looking for an opponent. That`s the word filtering through smoky gyms, according to Marvin Johnson, who won the World Boxing Association`s light heavyweight title Sunday in Indianapolis. Any truth to that? ``Naaaaaa. Not to my knowledge,`` answered Angelo Dundee, Ali`s longtime trainer. ``I stopped being surprised by Muhammad years ago, but I don`t think there`s anything to that. Maybe he`s just trying to pull somebody`s leg. I heard about some exhibitions against Joe Frazier. I know he wants to get some weight off, so maybe he`s in the gym working out. But that other rumor? Naaaaaa.``

RING REALITY

Look for an announcement later this week that the Golden Gloves tournament will be revived in Chicago this spring. We hear promoter Cedric Kushner and referee Stanley Berg have recruited a corporate sponsor to help with expenses. . . . If bloodlines mean anything in boxing, South Sider Johnny Collins faces a stiff challenge March 9 when he meets Robbie Sims in Las Vegas. Sims, you see, is the half-brother of middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler, who defends his title against John ``the Beast`` Mugabi the following night in the same ring. . . . In case you missed it: Promoter Bob Arum is telling folks that the Collins-Sims winner will next face Roberto Duran, the ``no mas`` kid who recently began yet another comeback. . . . Craig Bodzianowski`s handlers feel he needs more work before he continues his comeback against top-ranked contenders, and so they`ve tentatively scheduled the Tinley Park cruiserweight for a mid-March bout with Indiana`s Ric Enis. Enis, whose record is a modest 14-7, is a sparring partner of Marvin Johnson and a former Indiana University running back (1974-77). . . . Lee Roy Murphy takes time off from his duties as a Cook County sheriff`s deputy to defend his International Boxing Federation cruiserweight title March 1 against Dorcey Gaymon in San Remo, Italy. Though he is virtually unknown and often ignored in his hometown, Murphy has been a European star since he successfully defended his crown in Monte Carlo last October with a 12th-round knockout of Chisanda Mutti. In that round, the fighters landed punches simultaneously and went down simultaneously, but Murphy became a matinee idol on the Continent when he was the only one who got up. . . . We hear a former cruiserweight champ, Alfonzo Ratliff, is bulking up in hopes of landing a spot in the HBO/Don King-sponsored tournament aimed at unifying the heavyweight title. As a

heavyweight, Ratliff lost a close fight to current World Boxing Council champ Pinklon Thomas in 1983 and was KO`d in the 7th by current WBA champ Tim Witherspoon in 1981. . . . Something of a surprise: Chicago`s Young Joe Louis, a black, meets Pierre Coetzer Feb. 19 in Johannesburg, South Africa, where apartheid is still the norm. Louis is getting approximately $10,000 for the fight. . . . Lightweight champ Hector ``Macho`` Camacho, who has long been boxing`s reigning fashion plate, now has a challenger: undefeated and unranked lightweight Vinny ``the Pazmanian Devil`` Pazienza. Pazienza, who resembles former champion Ray ``Boom Boom`` Mancini, entered the ring for his bout last week in Rhode Island with Joe Frazier Jr. wearing an electrified robe that blinked. Must be something to it. Not only did Pazienza run his record to 18-0 with a 7th-round knockout, he also filled the 13,000-seat Providence Civic Center and left others clamoring to get in. Normally, a fight like Pazienza-Frazier would be doing extraordinary if it drew 5,000, so this can mean only one thing: Pazienza will be on your screens soon, probably brought to you compliments of NBC.

NEWS, NOTES AND NONSENSE

Note to star-gazers: Walter Payton and William Perry film scenes for a rock video Wednesday afternoon around 12:30 on Michigan Avenue near Water Tower Place. The video is to go with the pair`s recently released rap song,

``Together.``. . . The match that never was: The U.S. men`s top-ranked Olympic volleyball team, which won its gold medal without having to face the Eastern Bloc teams that boycotted L.A., meets second-ranked Cuba Tuesday night, Feb. 25, at De Paul`s Alumni Hall. Chicago is the sixth stop on an eight-city tour the two teams are making. . . . White Sox legends chat with Chet Coppock on WMAQ radio from 6 to 7 each night this week from Sarasota, Fla., where they`re playing in the team`s first Fantasy Camp. Bill Melton is Tuesday`s guest, and he`s followed by Hoyt Wilhelm (Wednesday), Gary Peters